When Kenny Chesney decided to re-record “Carry On,” then add three tracks to the project he’d been working on, the 2025 Country Music Hall of Fame inductee thought he was just trying to maximize the potential for what became Silver Sands Marina. His 21st studio recording, though, turned into something the songwriter/superstar didn’t realize in the moment – only after he’d finished tweaking three new songs, finishing the sequence and listening to the entire project.
“There wasn’t a master plan,” admits the high-energy performer. “I wish I could say there was a master plan, but the truth is: the songs that felt like they belonged together knew something I didn’t. After the first couple listens to what became the final sequence, I realized, ‘This is an album.’
“With all the tracks, the playlists, the drops, I think we’ve forgotten the power of an actual collection of songs designed to work as a whole. Not 10 or 12 or even 18 great songs, but songs that have a relationship to each other, that speak to how life rolls out and happens.”
Having made the decision to follow his heart instead of merely doing what he’s always done, Chesney changed the game for what kinds of songs he was seeking – and what he wanted this project to be. Committing to brand new independent HEY NOW Records, the rule book went out the window and suddenly the man who earned his bones as a young writer at Acuff Rose Music found creative gears that explored emotions, turning points and hilarity in a way that most albums don’t.
With the random encounter/perfect moment title track, the surging song of arrival “Burn My Boat” and “Carry On,” Chesney’s first independent label single that marked his 100th charting single, making him the new record holder for Most Top 10s – and the 3rd in chart history to lock the entire country radio panel in its first week – it’s obvious the music on Silver Sands Marina speaks to the emotions we often move through without pausing to feel them. For Chesney, listening back, he recognized that not only did his latest contain a wide sweep of eclecticism, it dug deep into the heart of the matter, made fun of some tough stuff, created clarity in the storm and conjured all the feels.
“Songs that make you laugh, that make you realize what a moment might actually mean, those things are so important – and we forget all about them. Musically, lyrically, even the idea of opening with ‘Burn My Boat’ and closing with Brett James and Tony Lane’s ‘Shot Glass’ takes you places I’ve never been… and when all the songs line up next to each other, you get a real taste of how life rolls out, and the things you don’t see until it’s too late.”
Due Sept. 25, Silver Sands Marina features appearances by singer/songwriters Lily Meola, Megan Moroney and Colbie Caillat and embodies all the things the East Tennessean is known for: positive vibes, good humor, long drives, specific places, moments and memories that are destined to last a lifetime, obliterate what pulls you down and deliver a sense of how sweet life truly is.
Co-produced with longtime collaborator Buddy Cannon, the pair drew on some of Nashville’s most iconic songwriters including Shane McAnally, Matraca Berg, Tia Sillers and Jessie Alexander, plus emerging powerhouses Jessi Jo Dillon, Adam Wright and Tennille Townes
Personal, reflective, empowering and euphoric in different places, pre-order/pre-save/pre-add HERE.
The man with the most Billboard Country Airplay No. 1s returned to TalkShopLive – where limited signed copies of the picture disc vinyl, as well as signed albums and CD, are available – for his first discussion of Silver Sands Marina. Beyond unpacking many of the songs on the 11-song project, he elaborated on the way albums made of songs that speak to each other offer an extra dimension to the listening experience – and uncover the nuances of what being truly present can mean.
Watch the full conversation here: https://talkshop.live/watch/fvRzP4UAS_kb
